The checking and/or calibration of a passenger recognition device arranged in a vehicle seat is generally well known. The objective of checking is to find out whether the passenger recognition device correctly detects occupation of the vehicle seat, by a child seated in a child's seat in the present case. If this is not the case the passenger recognition device can be suitably corrected.
Problems here are that the passenger recognition device must not only recognise numerous structurally different child's seats but also that recognition must reliably ensue for different installation positions of a child's seat, different fastenings of the child's seat and occupation of the child's seat by children of different weights.
The checking and/or calibration of the passenger recognition device usually takes place by placing a child's seat on a vehicle seat arranged in a car body and fastening it to the latter by means of a safety belt. A corresponding reaction from the passenger recognition device is measured and evaluated for different belt tensions, installation positions and occupation of the child's seat with different dummies.
This procedure can be carried out with further child's seats and be repeated on a plurality of vehicle seats in order to draw up a test matrix comprising all available child's seats and vehicle seats on the basis of which the operation of the passenger recognition device for the cases substantially occurring in practice is assessable or adjustable.
Since the tests are carried out manually a problem arises with the reliability and reproducibility of the individual tests. Furthermore, the drawing up of the test matrix is very time-consuming. Since, in addition, a belt system as found in practice is necessary for setting the belt tensions, at least one substantially completely equipped motor vehicle is required for carrying out the test series. This in turn imposes an increased requirement for space for the test set-up. In order to carry out the test series under controlled extreme environmental conditions it is additionally necessary to have spacious climatic chambers for accommodating the motor vehicles.